“Ever since the days of Brown v. Board of Education, the efforts of the civil rights movement of the ’60s, the whole issue is about higher education being open and accessible to all,” Cartagena told VOXXI. “So in many ways the integration of our schools, given how integration is the key for advancement for all Americans, has been front and center of the entire civil rights movement.”

“Once we integrate the schools and assure higher education is accessible to all, including Latinos, then we can work on ensuring that all of us have the tools to progress.”

A number of challenges exist despite the progress that has been made in the last several decades. Immigration is just one of the issues that presents a barrier to higher education for Latino students.